Microsoft files patent for muscular control of computers

Microsoft is looking to a future where we instruct our computers using muscle-base controllers.

According to the Boy Genius Report, the company has filed a patent for a variety of electromyography (EMG) technologies. These could allow you to control your machine using the electrical activity in your muscles. The patent suggests that electrical signals from the body could be changed into a set of instructions that would then be translated by the computer into specific actions.

The technology is used to diagnose neurological and neuromuscular problems. It has also been deployed by the Nasa Human Senses Group, which has used EMG signals instead of mechanical joysticks and keyboards. Research is also being carried out into "wearable cockpits" – in which the pilot would control his plane using EMG-based gestures.

Microsoft’s patent suggests how this technology could be used for controlling consumer devices such as car sat-nav systems. The Boy Genius Report reports: "The electrodes necessary for this EMG-driven interaction would be applied on the forearm for local control or on the head, chest, arms and legs for full body control."

There are also huge implications for gaming, where EMG sensors embedded in clothes could pick up movements in your muscles and translate these into movements of gaming characters. Microsoft’s research labs has created a video showing how EMG technology could change how we play Guitar Hero, but it may be a while before we are all using electrical impulses from our bodies to interact with our machines.